Shoot Me
by syriala
Summary: Tony and Bucky hadn't gotten off to a good start. But when they are captured by Hydra, they need to work together to make it out of there alive.


This was supposed to be a enemy to friends to lover / Bucky and Tony doing their first mission together kinda story, but I barely managed the 'to friends' part, so there will be two more parts to this. I have no clue when that will happen though. Until I write the second part, I will mark this as complete, because you can read this as a stand alone. If you are interested in any next chapters, follow this. And now enjoy!

* * *

In retrospect there could have been a better time for Bucky and Tony to be introduced.

As it was they had met the day Tony nearly lost his company due to some major plotting of some board members. So he didn't handle that first meeting all that well. When Tony came to the common floor, still in his suit because he had to go back in a moment and dead on his feet, he was practically ambushed by Steve, with the former amnesiac assassin in tow.

"Tony, can we talk for a second?" Steve asked and Tony groaned.

"If we have to. There are really important things I have to attend to though, so make it quick." His tone was harsh and he prepared himself some coffee while he waited for Steve to finally speak up.

"I was wondering if it would be okay if Bucky moved in?" Steve unsurely asked and Tony shot a glance at the man in question. Barnes was looking a bit rough around the edges but otherwise he didn't look like he would kill them all, so Tony shrugged.

"Sure. Whatever. Pick a floor. There are about seven or so left? So just, show him around or something, make sure he doesn't kill anyone and we're good to go," Tony told them as he brushed past, barely sparing Bucky a second glance and then he was gone again. He had a company to take back and some people to fire.

Since then the meeting had migrated to the back at of Tony's mind, so he was reasonably surprised when he ran into Bucky a week later. When he saw the other man in his kitchen, well, the common kitchen really, but his tower after all, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Tony asked perplexed, but unconcerned since Jarvis would have warned him about any intruders.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?" the man asked him and Tony nodded.

"So I've been informed. Doesn't answer the question who you are though." He looked a bit closer at the man. "Do I know you? You seem familiar."

"I've been living here for over a week now. You offered me a floor, thanks for that by the way."

The way he said it sounded more like 'Fuck you' but Tony was used to that so he didn't mind. His gaze fell on the man's arm then and he only saw metal.

"Is that arm completely made out of metal?" Tony asked, still a bit confused, because he was lacking coffee here, but then it finally clicked. "Right! I forgot. You're Capsicles amnesiac boyfriend."

The metal hand clenched into a fist. Tony was aware that he should probably back off, but he was too tired to really realize the immediate danger. "That is one awesome piece of tech you have there. Mind if I take a look?" he asked and unconsciously reached out for it.

Bucky took a step back and said "Yes, I mind. Very much so."

"Alright. No reason to get your panties in a twist," Tony replied and also stepped back.

Bucky leveled him with a glare that would make the Black Widow proud and he said with a sneer "I don't get what Steve sees in you."

"Yeah, well neither do I," Tony shot back, bristling with how rude Bucky was. "I thought people back in the 30s had manners."

"We do, if someone deserves them," Bucky replied and then briskly walked away.

Tony just rolled his eyes; if someone wasn't going to be capable of general normal behavior then this would probably turn out to be a fun time to live in the tower.

It didn't get better.

Bucky was an asshole to Tony most of the time and Tony refused to be nice to someone who was so abrasive. He gave as good as he got and they had kind of a fight going on. Steve tried to negotiate between them but neither of them wanted to back down. Tony didn't know what he had done to get Bucky this angry but he wasn't about to ask this late into their little dispute.

It all came to a head when they were out fighting Hydra. Tony understood that it was a stressful situation for Bucky but that still didn't mean he was going to allow him to lash out more viciously than ever at Tony.

"I got my block cleared," Tony announced over the com, when he flew in to aid Natasha with her enemies.

"Nothing to be proud of, Stark. Anyone could fight in a suit of armour," Bucky snapped at him.

"Excuse me? I built this suit."

"Still doesn't make you a fighter. Or even a superhero for that matter."

"And the arm you have does?" Tony shot back angry that he felt the need to justify himself in front of Bucky.

"Tony," Steve yelled warningly and Tony instantly felt bad.

The arm was a touchy subject on Bucky's best days and it had sent him into a panic attack more than once on his bad ones. It was not only mean to bring this up now, but also potentially dangerous.

"Cut it out, Steve," Natasha chimed in. "Bucky was out of line as well," she said.

Tony didn't know if he was grateful that she was on his side or if the was worried that she apparently knew how close to home Bucky's words had hit.

"I don't understand what you even see in him," Bucky angrily said. "He is a foul-mouthed, lazy asshole who has no right to be on this team."

"Enough," Steve snapped but the damage was done.

Tony left Natasha to her own devices, after he took out three more agents, and flew over to Bucky to land right in front of him.

"You know what, Barnes? Fuck you. You think you're so special with everything you've been through, but here's a newsflash. You're not the most interesting person on this team and you're not even the most messed up. So cut it out!"

Tony was nearly in his face and Bucky was seething.

"Guys!" Clint yelled over the line and Tony took a second too long to understand that it was a warning rather than a reprimand, but by then it was already too late.

When Tony came to he found himself in a cell. There wasn't much to see besides clean walls, an obviously enforced door and a pacing Barnes.

"Oh, you finally awake?" Going by the tone of his voice it had taken Tony much longer than Barnes and he didn't like it.

"Excuse me that I'm not enhanced enough to shake off whatever they did to you," Tony said and his voice was rough.

"It took you three hours too long," Barnes spit out and Tony took a closer look at him. He was pale and shaking, sweating all over. He looked positively sick.

"What'd they do to you?" Tony asked while he got to his feet.

"Nothing I haven't lived through before." It was obvious to Tony that Hydra hat gone right back to their usual ways.

"Okay," Tony said. "Okay, that's not good."

"No shit, Sherlock," Barnes snarled and Tony sighed. Now was really not the time to fight like this.

"Let's call a truce, Barnes. We're going to have to work together if we want to get out of here. We can fight again afterwards."

Barnes stared at him. "There's no getting out of hits. Hydra will wipe us and we won't even remember that we're trying to get out. All we can do is wait for the others."

Tony took that in before he sat down. "Did they wipe you already?" he asked Bucky who shakily nodded. "But you still remember. So I'm guessing the chair is not working like it should and they need help. Which explains why they took me as well. They could've just grabbed you but they dragged me along so I'm guessing I'm going to repair that fucking chair."

Bucky let out a strangled whimper at that.

"I'm not going to, obviously," Tony explained. "But it means I'll have access to it. Which is good, that's my specialty."

Bucky seemed ready to punch him in the face and Tony realized that he would have to spell it out for him.

"It means I can manipulate it. I won't repair it. But given what I have to work with, and according to the blueprints I have already seen on the internet that will be a lot, I can send a distress signal with the chair. We just have to hold out until then."

"You don't know what they want you to do," Bucky protested but his face had regained a bit of colour.

"No, I don't. But they took me for a reason and I am very good with technology so that's our best bet right now."

Tony could see that Bucky didn't like that prospect one bit but he didn't say anything else.

Tony took better stock of the cell now but he couldn't find anything that indicated that they were being monitored, which was a relieve, but he couldn't rule it out completely. They would have to wait for someone to get them before they knew it for certain.

"What can you bench press with that arm?" Tony asked Buck with a jerk of his head after his inspection of the cell. Bucky immediately angled the arm away from him and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Christ, I don't want to do anything. I'm just guessing that we'll need it to smash at least part of our way out with it and I'd like to know all the variables."

"A lot," was Bucky's grumpy answer.

"A lot of what? A big human? A car? A plane? Give me a reference here."

"A car shouldn't be a problem," Bucky told him and resumed his pacing.

"Good," Tony said and then scrambled to his feet when there was a noise at the door. Bucky immediately retreated into the furthest corner and Tony thought that seemed more like a trained reaction than some personal decision.

"Mr. Stark, soldier," a man greeted them, weapon trained firmly on Tony's head. "You're going to accompany us," the man told Tony who didn't move.

"And if I don't?" he asked and the man pointed his weapon at Bucky's leg.

"Luckily the soldier heals quickly," was all he said and Tony quickly raised his hands.

"Okay, fine. Relax. No need for violence," Tony said. They needed to get an outlay of the place first before he could risk any injuries to either of them.

"That has yet to be determined," the man drawled and ushered him out of the cell.

Tony was brought into a room that held nothing but the dreaded chair and he was roughly shoved forwards.

"You will repair it. For every day it doesn't work the soldier will get a bullet."

"You seriously overestimate my love for him," Tony muttered and got a hit to the head for his trouble.

"We are not opposed to hurting you either," the man told him and Tony chuckled while he spit out some blood.

"Got it," Tony told them and wiped some more blood from his face. "I'll need at least one day to get an understanding of this," Tony said matter-of-factly and the man waved his gun.

"You can wave it all you want," Tony exasperatedly said. "I'm guessing this needs a lot of electricity and I can see some delicate constructions from here. So if you won't give me one day to understand this you might as well go shoot him right now."

Tony made his voice deliberately hard but he barely managed to keep it like that. It was obvious that this man did not fuck around and Tony wasn't sure how long he could stall him and if he could do it until the others showed up.

"I need the blueprints and everything that shows me where the electricity comes from," Tony said eventually when the man stayed quiet. "I'll need tools, delicate ones, and when I'm working on this you cannot interrupt me."

"You're not the one stating the conditions here, Mr. Stark," he snarled and Tony shrugged.

"No. But you want something from me and that's what I need to get it done."

The man eyed him for a second before he nodded. "Start now," he ordered and Tony got to work.

The chair wasn't that complicated after all, there was a lot of electricity focused on certain parts of the brain and Tony could immediately tell that there wasn't exactly anything wrong with it; it was just old and corrosive and not all the needed parts for a wipe got enough energy.

It was an easy enough fix but Tony spent all his time over the blueprints, pretending to find out how the chair worked. Instead he was trying to find the best way to get out of this place.

Tony wasn't as good with tactical decisions as Steve and maybe even Bucky, so he swiped a pencil, with the intent to draw the plans up for Bucky in hopes that he would have a better idea.

He was led back into the cell after what felt like hours. He had given the guard on his side a list of all the tools he would need and after that the plans and everything else had been ripped away from him before he was ushered out of the room. When he entered the cell Tony was surprised to see that Bucky was still unharmed and the man with the gun must have noticed because he smirked.

"You got this one day, Stark. Tomorrow he'll get a bullet for your laziness."

Bucky stiffened at that but Tony only turned to him when the cell was closed again.

"You know him? He's a delight."

Bucky was at his throat a second later, pressing him to the wall. "What did he mean?"

"Relax, Robocop," Tony managed to press out. "Let me explain."

Bucky pressed against him a second longer before he released him.

"Explain," Bucky growled and Tony rubbed his neck.

"They want me to repair the chair like I said. For everyday it doesn't work they are going to shoot you." Bucky's arm jerked at that. "Don't flip out. I told them I needed at least one day to familiarize myself with the chair, so for today you're safe. I got the blueprints to this place and nearly all the relevant information to cut the power. I need you to plan the escape route though."

Bucky raised an eyebrow. "What's the catch?" he asked Tony who laughed humorlessly.

"I need at least two days to set it up. Three would be better. The question is how many bullets you can take."

"One, if they aim correctly," Bucky deadpanned.

"They don't want you dead. They'll shoot at your legs or arm to hurt and incapacitate you. How much blood loss can you survive?"

"A lot," Bucky gravely said. "I'll live through three days."

"But can you move or fight after that? Because I saw at least four guards just on my way to that one room and I bet there are more. I cannot take them all."

Bucky leveled him with a look and Tony straightened up. "I can take a few. I do train outside of the suit."

Bucky gave him a look at that but didn't say anything besides "I'll guess we'll find that out soon enough."

Tony decided to let it go as well and instead he showed Bucky the pencil. "If I draw up the maps, can you find our best way out?" he asked and Bucky nodded.

"Shouldn't be a problem."

They spent the rest of their night hunched over the plans Tony drew on the floor, figuring out where best to go after Tony did his thing.

"What'll we do about the door" Bucky asked him eventually and Tony looked at it.

"It's an electronic door, no key is needed. If I cut the power the door should open on its own."

"And if not?"

"Then we're trapped in here without a way out."

"Please tell me you have a backup plan," Bucky said a bit desperately.

"The blackout should trigger a signal that Jarvis knows. He'll find us."

"Should," Bucky stated and his voice was flat.

"Yes. I can't promise it. There are too many variables. It looks like the chair is just old but if there's another problem I won't know until it's too late."

"Can't you just pretend to repair it?" Bucky asked him.

"And then what? They strap you in, wipe you, only to realize it's not working? Then they're going to hurt you _and_ me and they'll know I've played them." Tony shook his head. "No. this is our best bet."

Bucky looked very much like he wanted to argue that but in the end he didn't.

Tony felt like he had barely closed his eyes before the door opened again. Two guards came in, guns trained on both their heads while a third one put some food down. It wasn't much, two slices of bread and some water, but Tony and Bucky ate without complaining.

The man came back shortly after they were finished and when he entered Tony mentally dubbed him Angus. Angus smiled sweetly at them before he gestured for Tony to get up.

"Time to work for a living, Mr. Stark," he said and Tony wanted to punch him in the face. Instead he just went with him without complaining. "I suggest today you really start working, Mr. Stark. His life depends on it."

Tony wanted to say something to that, because he doubted they would kill Bucky now that they finally had him back, but instead he smiled at Angus. "Depends on what you got me to work with, doesn't it?"

Angus hand twitched and Tony had to stop himself from smiling. Testing the boundaries was good but outright antagonizing him wouldn't get them anywhere.

"You'll be provided with everything you need," Angus told him.

Somehow Tony doubted that but he stepped closer to the chair. He made a very elaborate show of checking the various parts and muttered things to himself.

"These'll need replacing," he said eventually and pointed at various parts.

Angus nodded to one of the guards and he stepped forwards, paper and pen ready.

"You tell him everything you'll need, Mr. Stark," Angus told him and Tony shuddered at the tone.

Tony started to rattle off a list of things he would need and the guard was quick to take it all down.

When that was done Tony started to take the chair apart. He disassembled all the corrosive parts and reused whatever he could. No one questioned his actions and Tony knew that no one understood what he was doing in the first place. It gave him hope that they would be able to pull this whole stunt off.

When he was done with that part he looked up at Angus who was sitting at a table, quietly drinking coffee.

"Do you have the parts yet?" Tony asked him and Angus smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm afraid acquiring everything you need will take until tomorrow," he said and Tony gritted his teeth.

He had hoped to get more done today, to manage it in two days, but that seemed impossible now.

"Well, then it's not my fault the chair won't work today," Tony pressed out.

Angus laughed. "No, it's really not." The tone in which he said is made it clear that Bucky wouldn't be spared today no matter that it wasn't Tony's fault.

"If there's nothing more you can do now, we'll escort you back to your cell," Angus told them and Tony quickly debated if it was worth stretching things out now. Since going back now would give Bucky more time to heal tomorrow he decided that it wasn't worth it and so instead he nodded.

Tony was quickly led back to the cell. When he entered Bucky was already waiting for them as it seemed, standing opposite of the door, shoulders straight and staring at Angus. Tony smiled apologetically at him but Bucky didn't even look at him, gaze firmly fixed on Angus.

Angus gave him yet another sweet smile before he pulled out a gun. Tony quickly stepped in front of Bucky.

"It's not my fault," he firmly repeated and Angus obviously seemed surprised by his actions.

"Mr. Stark. We talked about this."

"And I still disagree," Tony told him, acutely aware of how still Bucky was behind him.

Angus eyed him and then Bucky before that sickening smile returned. "I will fire a bullet today. It would be a shame if it hit you, Mr. Stark; but it won't stop me."

Tony tensed at that. He had hoped that he was too valuable to be hurt but it seemed like he was wrong. Still; he stared Angus down until Bucky's hand at his shoulder startled him out of it.

"Don't do this," Bucky whispered and pushed Tony aside. He was too stunned to react and so Bucky had an easy time manhandling him.

Soon enough Angus gun was trained on Bucky's thigh and Tony resisted the urge to speak up again. It wouldn't do them any good but he couldn't help to clench his hands.

Bucky and Angus stared at each other for a few seconds before a shot rang loudly through the cell. Tony could see Bucky flinch under the impact but he didn't give another reaction otherwise. Angus seemed to appreciate that, there was a small pleased smile on his lips, before he turned around.

"Until tomorrow then," he told them and the door closed behind him with a thud.

The moment it was closed Bucky stumbled and let himself slide down to the floor. Tony was at his side a second later.

"How bad?" he asked, hands fluttering over the wound, afraid to touch.

"Flesh wound," Bucky gritted out and then he reached for his undershirt to tear it apart. His hands stilled for a moment after that and Tony already dreaded his next words.

"You'll have to get the bullet out. I will heal around it if it stays inside."

Tony blanched at the prospect. "And how do you suggest I do that?"

Bucky only threw a meaningful glance at his hands.

"Fuck," Tony muttered and Bucky hummed in agreement.

"Do I just, I don't know, poke around until I get it? How will I even get it out?"

"It won't be easy," Bucky agreed. "You have to use your fingers." He stopped again. "Or get the pencil. Maybe that would make it easier. Just one finger and that."

"I don't like this. The next one better go clean through," Tony muttered with gritted teeth when he got the pencil.

"What if you get an infection because of this?" he asked Bucky who shrugged.

"Not likely to happen. I haven't caught anything since I got the serum, so I guess it's worth a try. Unless you'd like to try it with your fingers."

"No thanks. One is bad enough."

Tony settled down next to Bucky's leg and then took a deep breath.

"Don't hit me, alright?" he asked, right before he got started.

It was tricky, the bullet was slippery with blood and it wasn't easy to get it to cooperate. Tony was aware that every time he failed to get a good grasp on it, Bucky was in even more pain, but he couldn't help it. Besides, that thought did nothing to make his hands steadier.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, he got the bullet out.

"Thank God," he sighed and quickly threw the bullet and the pencil away.

"If they had left the belt," Bucky said with a painfully tight voice, "we would have actual bandages."

"Looks like we'll have to make do with this," Tony said and took the stripes of clothes Bucky handed him. "Deep breath," Tony instructed, right before he pulled the makeshift bandage tight. Bucky hissed and tensed under Tony's hands but didn't flinch away.

"What did you mean it's not your fault?" Bucky asked him while Tony checked that the bleeding wasn't too bad.

"I ordered the parts I need but Angus said he won't get them till tomorrow. I couldn't work properly because of that."

"Angus?" Bucky asked and there was the hint of a laugh in his voice.

"He didn't introduce himself, which by the way rude, and I couldn't keep calling him 'the man' in my head anymore. Besides, he seems like an Angus."

"What does an Angus look like?" Bucky asked and there definitely was a chuckle now. Tony was afraid the blood loss already got to him.

"Well, like him," Tony said with a smile and now Bucky laughed outright. "This okay?" Tony asked him when he was done with his leg and Bucky nodded.

"It'll heal enough till tomorrow. But I would love to keep it at two," he told Tony who winced.

"Don't think I can do that," he said apologetically. "I basically lost today. But it should be in place after the day after tomorrow, so we can break out the day after that. Maybe I can take that last bullet," Tony mused. "You'll have to do most of the fighting anyway."

"Don't be stupid," Bucky grumbled. "A bullet won't incapacitate me that much while you don't know how to live with that pain."

Tony's hand reflexively reached for the arc reactor, a constant pain in his chest and Bucky watched him curiously. He opened his mouth, no doubt to ask a question about it, but before he could, Tony abruptly stood up.

"You shouldn't move around with that," he told Bucky who opened his mouth before closing it without saying a word. Tony was grateful for it.

"Not like there's much to do anyway," he muttered eventually and settled into a more comfortable position.

They spent the rest of the time in silence. Tony eventually went to pick up his pencil, frowning when he saw the blood all over it, but he quickly cleaned it on his pants.

"What do you want to do with the bullet?" Tony asked Bucky who shrugged and extended his hand.

"Give it to me. Maybe I can use that as a weapon."

Tony dropped it into Bucky's hand, the metal on metal making a little noise.

Bucky put it away somewhere while Tony redrew some parts he would have to build. He occasionally checked up on Bucky but he was staring right ahead, jaw clenched and leg occasionally twitching.

When the door to their cell opened again it was for dinner. Or maybe it was breakfast again, because they got the same food as before. Tony eyed it warily, aware that it wasn't enough to give Bucky enough calories to speed up the healing even one bit.

Tony wordlessly slid his tray over to Bucky.

"What are you doing?" Bucky growled and Tony rolled his eyes.

"What does it look like? I'm giving you my food. You'll need it."

Bucky raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him and Tony sighed. "Are we gonna fight about this as well? Just take the damn food. It will help with your healing, so stop this."

"And you think you don't need the food."

"I think I can live two days without food. I have lived off worse things in the workshop. Two days on pure coffee is worse than no food at all, I promise you."

Bucky's eyes narrowed slightly at him and Tony squirmed under the attention.

"Stop looking like this and take the damn food," Tony grumbled and went back to drawing some specs.

Bucky stared at him a bit longer but eventually he dragged Tony's tablet closer and quickly finished it off.

Tony knew that healing took a lot out of Steve and obviously it wasn't that different with Bucky. He had told the truth when he had said he could survive two days without food, but it wouldn't be fun. He wasn't in the right headspace to not feel the nagging in his stomach even now and the next days would be a challenge.

But a healing Bucky was more important than a sated Tony.

They were left alone after the trays got taken away from them and Tony settled down to get at least a bit of sleep. It wasn't much, just a light slumber, waking up at any noise, but it was better than nothing. Whenever he woke up, Bucky was already awake and Tony doubted he got any sleep at all.

"You know, the whole healing thing won't work when you don't get any rest," Tony said when he woke up for the fourth time only to find Bucky already awake.

"Someone has to keep watch," Bucky answered without taking his eyes off the door. It was only then that Tony realized their positions.

If the door was to open, whoever came through would see Bucky first and wouldn't notice Tony until the door was fully opened. Tony wondered how they had ended up like that; he was pretty sure Bucky hadn't steered him to this side of the room, but it happened. That didn't mean Tony had to like it now.

"I can keep watch as well," Tony protested and sat up. Bucky eyed him doubtfully. "I can," Tony defensively said before Bucky even got a word out.

"That's not the part I doubt," Bucky said, much to Tony's surprise. "But what happens if someone comes in? If they decide to gas us? Can you smell that?"

"No," Tony admitted with a frown. "But you also can't do anything about it. If they do that, there's not much left for us to do anyway." Tony eyed the door. "Besides, they expect you to keep watch. It will throw them off when they see me first. And no matter what Angus said, they still need me. They won't shoot me on sight. And if I kept watch, that would put you in this place," Tony pointed towards the place he was currently sitting in. "It would give you at least a little element of surprise."

Bucky's eyes narrowed at that. "You're not as oblivious as I thought," he eventually admitted, which surprised Tony.

He knew that Bucky didn't think much of him, but he hadn't thought Bucky would outright say so.

"You learn a lot during three months of captivity," Tony said with a shrug, trying for a casual tone and failing.

Bucky eyed him speculatively before he said "Steve never really told me about that. He only said you were gone three months and came back with this," he pointed at Tony's chest, "thing."

"It's not his place to tell," Tony shortly said and then took a deep breath. Talking about his time in the cave was difficult at best; being imprisoned in this cell now didn't help the matter.

"And it's called an Arc reactor," he told Bucky once he had his breathing under control again.

"Involuntary?" Bucky asked and kept his gaze fixed on his own metal hand.

"Very," Tony answered and Bucky nodded, then dropped the matter.

"You can keep watch for the rest of the night. Shouldn't be long anyway."

When Bucky got up, Tony saw that the bleeding had already stopped.

"How's the wound?" he still asked, because he needed to know just how fast Bucky was healing to time their escape accordingly.

"Healing," was all the response he got and Tony rolled his eyes.

"If you want me to make this plan work, I need a bit more information," he told Bucky who was carefully lowering himself into the place Tony had been in before.

"The bleeding stopped and the wound scabbed over. It itches, so I'm guessing it is healing, but I can't tell you how far along it is."

"How long does a bullet wound normally take to heal?" Tony inquired while he made himself as comfortable as he could, eyes firmly trained on the door.

"A few days? Not longer than five, I think."

"You don't know?" Tony incredulously asked him and Bucky shrugged.

"If a mission was done, I was put back into the cryo tube. The wounds were healed when I came back out. So no clue."

Bucky's voice was tight and he hunched in on himself and Tony realized that this whole situation wasn't easy for him either, no matter how tough Bucky pretended to be.

Being back with Hydra couldn't stir good memories, and the prospect of a working chair probably made everything worse.

"Okay. Let's just hope that by the time of our escape it's healed enough that it won't break open and you start bleeding again. The last bullet won't be healed enough to prevent that but one bleeding wound is enough," Tony said and leaned his head against the wall.

"Now get some sleep, that's the whole reason for this anyway."

"You kept me awake with your questions," Bucky replied, but he had already settled down; it didn't look comfortable with his metal hand shoved under his face, but Tony wasn't about to say another thing.

Bucky had been right, it didn't feel all that long before the door opened again and just like Tony had predicted Angus seemed a bit surprised to see him first.

"Mr. Stark," he greeted when he recovered. "I hope you are ready for a new day of work."

"Would be, if I couldn't feel my stomach eating itself," Tony replied but got up anyway. If Angus didn't bring food with him, there wouldn't be any food at all.

"I'm afraid that has to wait until you are done for today," Angus sweetly told him and Tony eyed Bucky.

That meant only one meal per day and going by what they were given so far, it didn't contain enough calories to speed up the healing process. Especially not if another wound was to be added.

"Me being lightheaded with the lack of food and water won't get you a working chair, you know that, right?" Tony asked Angus, who quickly seemed to grow impatient with Tony's lack of movement.

"If I am satisfied with your progress today, we just might be convinced to give you and your companion a little lunch."

So Angus could be persuaded after all. "If my parts are here as I ordered that shouldn't be a problem," Tony told him and finally moved towards him.

He was led back to the chair without another word and when they entered the room Tony immediately saw the parts he ordered. At first glance nothing seemed missing but Tony carefully sifted through everything until he was satisfied that everything was just like he wanted it.

"I hope you find everything to your liking," Angus said from his chair and Tony carefully nodded his head.

"Nothing is missing." He wasn't about to praise Angus for getting him some fucking parts. Angus smiled like he knew exactly what Tony was thinking.

"Then it won't be a problem for you to get it done today, will it?"

"It will, actually. I'll need at least two more days, if not three for this. It's not as easy as it looks, you know. It's delicate work."

"Oh, I'm sure it is, Mr. Stark. Just know that if your delicate work happens to harm us your friend will suffer for it."

"Of course he will," Tony muttered under his breath and then tuned Angus out to get to work.

Tony was so consumed with his work that he startled badly when someone touched him at his elbow.

A guard was there, shoving a tray with some food into his face and Tony hurried to take it from him.

"You get a ten minute break, Mr. Stark. The tray will be taken away afterwards. Better make sure to eat it all before that."

Tony eyed the food on the tray and then quickly suppressed his surprise. There was an actual warm meal on there, pasta with meat and sauce, a little dessert pudding and a bottle of water.

He carefully eyed it, but it appeared to be still closed, and it wasn't like Tony had much of a choice. He would need his strength and so he would take the water. And the food for that matter.

"What about Barnes?" he asked between bites and took glee out of Angus' disgusted face when he talked with his mouth full.

"He got the same you did," Angus shortly replied and Tony nodded.

This meal was heavy on the calories, the sauce everything was drowned in was creamy and thick and the pasta was good as well. It should help speed the healing process along.

Tony couldn't tell if Angus kept his word about the ten minutes, but when the same guard took the plate away from him, there was nothing left.

"I advise you go back to work now, Mr. Stark. We wouldn't want to hurt the asset any further."

Tony had a witty reply on his tongue, but he held it back. Bucky was getting shot this day no matter what he did and he didn't want to irk Angus any more. Their plan depended on Bucky being still able to fight and if Angus lost his cool and decided to shoot him in the arm, or god forbids the chest, there wouldn't be any escaping at all.

So Tony turned around without another comment and concentrated back on his work.

He made good progress; there were three things he needed to install in order for this to work and he was already assembling the second one. He would definitely finish tomorrow and their plan would be set into motion during that night.

That still meant two more shots for Bucky, but Tony would try his best to take the last one. After this part was done, Bucky was the important one after all.

Tony quickly lost himself in the work again, only barely aware of the other people in the room, but when the guard approached him, he wasn't startled like the first time. He didn't feel comfortable that anyone could just approach him then and so he hadn't entered his normal headspace.

"Your time for today is up," the guard gruffly said and yanked Tony up, not caring in the slightest that he was still elbow deep into the chair.

His arms and hands painfully scraped along some parts but Tony was more worried about anything breaking in the chair than about his arms.

"If there is damage to my work now, I can't be held responsible," Tony told Angus and shot the guard an angry glare.

"That is true," Angus replied and then turned towards the guard. "You pose a danger to our goals," he said and then drew his gun and shot the guard point blank.

Tony was covered with a spray of blood and then the guard fell against him, making Tony stumble and almost fall down.

He pushed the guard off him and the body fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Tony stared at the corpse and then quickly took a step back when the pool of blood nearly reached his foot.

"You're insane," Tony breathed and turned around to Angus, who was looking like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"I am goal oriented, Mr. Stark. He posed a danger to our goals. People like him need to be disposed of, how else would we ever make any progress?"

Tony stared at Angus and hoped to God that he wouldn't figure out what he had been doing today. If Angus noticed that he wasn't actually working on repairing the chair Tony and Bucky were dead men.

"Now, if you would be so kind and accompany me back to your cell," Angus said and grabbed Tony at the elbow to steer him away from the chair and the still bleeding body in front of it.

"Food will be brought to you shortly," Angus told him right before he closed the door behind Tony and Tony couldn't help but stare at it for a few seconds. This man was more dangerous than he had let on.

He only came out of his stupor when Bucky was suddenly at his side.

"What happened?" he frantically asked, hands hovering over Tony's chest and Tony looked down.

His shirt was drenched with blood and when he lifted a hand he realized that there was also some blood on his face.

"It's not mine," he immediately said and Bucky slightly relaxed.

"What happened?" he asked again and Tony sighed.

"He's insane," he said and sat down on the floor. "He shot a guard because he roughly yanked me away from the chair. My hands were still in there. Angus is not a friend of people who go against his goals."

"How far did you come today?" Bucky asked him and settled down opposite of Tony, obviously reassured that Tony wasn't hurt.

"It'll be done tomorrow. We'll escape in the night. And you will let me take the last bullet."

"I will do no such thing," Bucky told him and Tony groaned.

"We need you in fighting condition. I'm not gonna be a lot of help there, I told you that. I might not be defenseless, but I'm no match for you. We need you in the best possible condition and that contains me taking a bullet."

"Not happening. I can work through the pain."

"But not the blood loss," Tony countered.

Bucky obviously wanted to continue arguing about that but before he could the door opened again.

"Gentlemen," Angus said and then threw a bundle into Tony's direction. "I want you to change. Your appearance is appalling."

Tony carefully picked the bundle up and was surprised to see a shirt and pants, as well as a spare cloth, no doubt to clean up his face.

"Since you are not done with the chair yet, I have to shoot the asset yet again. I hope I won't have to do it a third time."

"Me as well," Tony muttered under his breath but shut up when Bucky shot him a glare.

"If you would," Angus told Bucky and gestured for him to get up.

Bucky didn't let himself be asked twice and stood up, defiance edged into every line of his body. It still didn't help; the shot rang as loudly as it did before and Bucky was just as stoic.

Angus had aimed for the other leg this time, which just made Tony fear that tomorrow he would aim for his arm instead of the legs and his resolve to take that particular bullet just grew.

Angus gave that same pleased little smile as before when Bucky didn't make a sound and then holstered the gun.

"Your dinner will be delivered shortly," he told them right before he left and Bucky left out a huff of breath.

"I don't know if I am impressed with his manners or if I am creeped out."

Tony threw him a glance, it was exactly what he had been thinking, but he was surprised that Bucky's train of thought went along the same lines.

"How bad is it?" he asked, gesturing at Bucky's leg, instead of voicing his thoughts on that matter.

"It went clean through this time," Bucky said with a frown and looked at the wall behind him.

When Tony took a step aside, he could see the bullet lodged there.

"At least I don't have to dig around for that," he said and then proceeded to rip his blood stained shirt apart. At least they had enough bandages now.

"Sit down," Tony gestured and then was all over Bucky's leg.

"You know, I can do that myself," Bucky told him, a bit exasperated, but he didn't refuse Tony's careful hands.

"It's my fault, so at least let me help."

"It's not your fault," Bucky told him with a firm voice but Tony shrugged.

"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"No," Bucky answered. "You're right. If it weren't for you, I would already be strapped to the damn chair and they would try to recalibrate it around me. That seems like the better prospect here, you're absolutely right."

"They need you. They wouldn't," Tony said with a shake of his head.

"They need me as the Winter Soldier. If they can't make me comply I'm worthless to them. They would rather kill me than have me running around like this."

Bucky had a point there, Tony couldn't deny that, but it still somehow felt like his fault.

He gave Bucky's leg a gentle pat after he tightened the bandages and then got up again, not willing to discuss this further.

When their food was brought to them, Tony silently slid his tray over to Bucky who took it with a sigh.

"Did you get lunch?" Tony asked him once he was done with their comparably meager dinner.

"Yes. You did that?"

"Kinda."

"Thank you," Bucky said earnestly and Tony ducked his head.

"Don't," he managed and went back to his specs before Bucky said something else.

This was not something he should be thanked for.

They kept watch again this night, but Tony didn't have to fight Bucky for the right to do it as well, so he counted that as a win. Bucky simply woke him after some time and switched places with Tony without a word.

Tony was grateful that this wasn't a fight they would have to keep fighting and so he settled down with the feeling that he actually accomplished something.

When the door opened, it was Bucky who sat opposite of it and gave Angus a feral snarl before getting up and out of reach.

"If you could behave less like the animal you are, I would appreciate it," Angus absentmindedly told him, while he already turned to Tony.

"Mr. Stark. What a lovely day to finish your work on the chair, don't you think?"

"I told you before; I don't think I can do it today."

"That would be a real pity," Angus drawled and seized Bucky up, like he was already looking for the best spot to put yet another bullet into.

"It's complicated work," Tony tried again and Angus turned a frown towards him.

"You are repeating yourself, Mr. Stark. I don't care how difficult the work is. I want to see some results today."

Tony gave a desperate sound, but then Bucky was at his side, crowding him in and speaking lowly enough that Angus wouldn't hear a word.

"Don't give in. I can take it," he drawled into Tony's ear and then a guard was there and shoved him away.

Tony gave one last look at Bucky and his stubbornly set jaw before he was led out of the room and back to the chair. The first thing he noticed was that someone cleaned up the mess from the day before; there was no trace of the pool of blood that had been here not even a few hours ago.

The guard slightly shoved him towards the chair and Tony scowled at him.

"No need to get rough," he muttered and Angus raised an eyebrow.

"That is only true if your work gets done today."

Tony silently cursed him and every other damn Hydra agent, but he dutifully got to work.

Implanting the last two parts took him the better part of the day and Angus seemed to grow more impatient with every hour that passed.

There was no lunch break this time and Tony didn't dare to ask for one.

When the parts were in place and ready to take out the power Tony wrecked his brain what he could do now. It wasn't like he was going to actually repair the rest of the chair, but he had to look busy and he quickly got an idea.

The water supply had been low, just barely enough to keep them hydrated at all, and Tony figured it wouldn't be too farfetched to be suffering from that.

He waited another hour, mindlessly tinkering around until then before he bent down to reach for a spare part. When he came up again, he staggered, hand reaching for his head, dropping what he had just picked up and crashing into the chair.

There was the sound of something cracking and Tony dropped down to the floor.

A guard was at his side a moment later, pulling him up to his feet again, so that Angus could properly snap at him.

"What was that?" he asked, voice tight and dangerously low.

"I didn't have enough to drink. I feel faint," Tony explained, and wobbled a bit on his legs, for emphasis.

"What did you break?" Angus hissed and Tony turned around to look at the damage.

"It's a vital part. I'll need to redo that. But I need more parts for that."

"So you won't finish today," Angus said, obviously trying for calm and somewhat failing.

"Definitely not," Tony replied and Angus took a deep breath.

"Is there anything more you can do today?" he asked him and Tony shook his head.

"Apart from giving you the list of parts I need? No."

"Then you will be accompanied back to your cell," Angus said with a little nod towards the guard, who quickly ushered Tony out of the room.

Dread was coiling in Tony's stomach, because Angus didn't seem pleased and Tony was a bit afraid that he had messed their plan up with this. If Angus snapped and actually shot Bucky to hurt or kill him, and not just as a motivation for Tony to work, this would have been for nothing.

When they entered the cell, Bucky was already waiting for them. Tony was roughly shoved inside, and stumbled a few steps, keeping the charade at least somewhat up.

"Mr. Stark failed to complete the chair today," Angus told Bucky who shot a quick appreciating glance towards Tony.

"That means there will be no mercy for you," Angus said and pulled out his gun. When he aimed it at Bucky's chest, Tony actually felt faint.

"No," he brought out and stumbled in front of Bucky. "It was my fault. I damaged it. You should punish me for that."

"This is not punishment, Mr. Stark. This is motivation."

"It's not," Tony said and shook his head. "If you shoot him in the arm, that's motivation. What you're about to do is punishment and it shouldn't be for him. It should be me."

"Shut up, what are you doing?" Bucky hissed behind him but Tony paid him no mind.

If he couldn't convince Angus to shoot him they wouldn't get out of here.

Angus had slightly cocked his head while staring at Tony and then he smiled yet again. It was beginning to make Tony sick.

"You are right, Mr. Stark," he said right before he pulled the trigger.

Tony hadn't expected Angus to actually take him up on the bullshit he was spitting, but when bright hot pain exploded in his leg he realized that he was more convincing than he had thought.

Tony wasn't as stoic as Bucky, didn't even waste a second on pretending to be, and stumbled before he fell to the ground, a pained noise making it past his lips.

Angus left them without another word, the door falling heavily shut behind him and Bucky was right there.

"You idiot," he hissed while he checked Tony's leg.

The bullet went clean through, Tony had a second to spare being thankful that it didn't hit Bucky in the process, before Bucky prodded around and pain erased every other thought.

"What are you doing?" Tony weakly asked once he found his voice again.

"Looking at the edges. It's all clean. What were you thinking?" Bucky asked him, voice laced with anger and Tony shrugged, while pointedly keeping his eyes off the wound.

"Luckily we have enough bandages," Tony said a bit breathlessly while Bucky went to get them. "And I was thinking that you getting shot in the chest wouldn't help us," he added when Bucky shot him a glance.

"He wouldn't have," Bucky mumbled and then said "Deep breath," right before he tightened the bandages around Tony's leg.

"Yes he would have," Tony panted when Bucky scooted away from him. "He totally would have. He was done with my shit."

"What did you do?"

"I damaged something due to 'lack of water'," Tony explained. "There was nothing left for me to do and I wasn't about to repair the chair for real."

"So you're done? Everything is in place?"

Tony nodded. "It should start in a few hours."

"Think you can walk by then?" Bucky asked him with a nod to his leg.

"Probably not," Tony shrugged and Bucky visibly bristled with anger.

"I told you, that was a stupid idea. You really shouldn't have done that."

"There was no other choice. Now let it go," Tony demanded, but Bucky seemed unhappy.

"You shouldn't have to take a bullet for me."

"I should, if it meant you could get seriously hurt otherwise. A bullet to the chest counts for that and now shut up! It's done and over and we'll get out of here tonight no matter what."

"Fine," Bucky snapped back and then went to inspect the bullet lodged in the wall. "See if I care," he muttered under his breath but Tony heard him nonetheless.

After a few seconds he extended his hand towards Tony. "Gimme the damn pencil," he demanded and Tony looked across the room, where it was lying on the ground.

He debated telling Bucky to get it himself but then pride won out. He got up, carefully keeping the weight off his leg and hobbled over to the corner. The pain was intense and Tony wasn't sure how far he would get with this leg once they were on the run.

He just prayed that the adrenalin would kick up again once the power went out and that it would let him power through everything.

He got the pencil without further comment and chucked it in Bucky's direction, a small part pleased when it hit him in the shoulder.

Bucky didn't even thank him, he just started to get the bullet out of the wall. It was still mostly intact, a little bit was chipped off and it was dented but Bucky seemed pleased with that. He put it into his pocket, adding it to the other bullet.

When that was done he settled down, carefully expecting his own wounds and by the way he ripped some bandages off the healing process was pretty far along, at least on the first one.

Tony let himself slide to the wall right where he stood, not bothering to limp across the room; Bucky could damn well take this first watch right now.

"When this door opens, you will stay behind me," Bucky said out of the blue after a few minutes and Tony nodded. "Keep to the wall, for support and so that fewer people can creep up on you. You can warn me about approaching enemies, especially if they come from behind me, but I don't want you to engage."

Tony really wanted to protest that, he was confident that he could fight thanks to the adrenalin and pure fear that would no doubt surge through him, but one furious look from Bucky shut him up.

"I can't fight them and keep a worried eye on you."

"Then don't keep an eye on me. I am perfectly able to look after myself."

Bucky looked meaningfully at the blood soaked bandages around Tony's leg and Tony sighed.

"I took that bullet out of my own free will and-"

"That's exactly what's worrying me," Bucky interrupted him. "You cannot do that again. It won't get us out of here faster, if you insist on doing this shit again. You need to be able to walk."

"And you need to be able to fight, so if I think it's the right thing to do, I will do it again," Tony shot back. He faintly heard Steve telling him that he didn't seem like the guy to lie down on the wire to let someone else crawl over it and Tony almost laughed at that. He sure had come a long way and he would rub Steve's nose right into this.

Bucky clenched his jaw, along with his fists on his legs, but he didn't say another thing.

They spend the next few hours in silence, Tony willing his leg to heal faster and Bucky dozing.

"We will notice when your plan starts, right?" Bucky eventually asked him, eyes still closed and hands relaxed.

"Definitely," Tony retorted without looking at him.

He was poking at his leg a little, checking if the bleeding stopped and to see how bad the pain still was and he startled when Bucky said "Stop it! You'll make it worse."

"There's a hole in my leg, Barnes. It doesn't get worse."

"You don't know the first thing," Bucky muttered and then perked up when everything went pitch black.

"Is this your plan?" he asked and Tony tilted his head into his direction.

"Yep. Think you can get the door open?"

"You could have mentioned that it would be entirely dark," Bucky said but Tony heard him move around, so he guessed Bucky was on his way to the door.

"I thought mentioning that I would cut the power would have clued you in to that, but next time I'll be more specific."

"There better not be a next time," Bucky muttered under his breath, voice sounding strained and then there was a scraping noise.

"Door's open," Bucky told him and Tony took a deep breath before he got up.

He tentatively put some weight on his injured leg and the pain was intense, but he could work through that. It wasn't like he wasn't used to some pain.

He made his way over to where he last heard Bucky's voice and promptly collided with a human body.

"Will it stay this dark?"

"The emergency power should kick in any second now. But it's just a straight hallway to the left, so if we keep to the wall, we could cover some ground before that happens."

"Alright. Take this," Bucky ordered and guided Tony's hand to his shirt. "I want you to stay close until the light comes back on."

Tony felt like a child, clinging to Bucky's shirt like that, but he did as he was told.

They slowly but steadily made their way down the corridor and even around the first corner before the emergency light came on.

Everything was turned into a sickly, faint green and Tony wondered who chose that damn colour. Everything seemed more ghostly than it had before and Tony couldn't say he liked it.

"Okay," Bucky said in a low voice. "Keep to this wall, a few feet behind me. Turn so that you can watch our backs, but keep moving. Warn me when someone is coming and don't try any shit on your own," he instructed Tony, who promptly turned around a bit, so he could watch the corridor they came from.

There was faint yelling and someone obviously was running around, but they didn't encounter anyone for the next two floors.

When they turned around the third corner, Bucky cursed and immediately ducked back.

"Two up ahead, both carrying guns," he told Tony and then peeked around the corner again. "Stay here," he mumbled, hand in his pocket and no doubt playing with the bullets.

He looked around the corner one last time before he crouched low and engaged. Tony couldn't see anything but if the yelling and pained grunts were any indication, Bucky quickly deposed of the guards.

Tony stayed where he was; he had a hard time even remembering where he was right now, images of the cave layering over the corridor, screams mingling all together. The flickering lights made it hard to discern between sand and stone, and so he wasn't keen on moving much. His leg was hurting and he was pretty sure he quickly approached a panic attack, so he pressed himself to the wall and took some deep breaths.

He startled badly when Bucky came back, one gun in his hand, the other shoved into his pants, and Bucky seemed to understand the situation with one glance.

"Shit," he hissed and then grabbed Tony's shoulder. "We don't have time for this," he told him, voice low and intense. "You have to snap out of it."

"I know," Tony croaked and grabbed Bucky's arm. "It'll be fine. I'm fine."

Bucky shot him a look that told Tony just how much he was obviously not fine and then offered a gun to Tony.

"You want to take one?" he asked. Tony hesitated a second but then took it. "But don't shoot me in the back," Bucky said before he turned around. "Let's go on."

Bucky steadily made his way through the next few corridors, shooting every guard they came across, and taking their weapons and ammunitions.

Tony stayed a few feet behind him, watching the corridor and shooting everyone that came after them from that position. Bucky had whirled around the first time Tony had shot someone, but now he didn't react to that anymore, obviously trusting Tony to have his back.

Making their way through the corridors was the easy part; it would get difficult once they reached the only room they had to cross to make it outside.

"We're here," Bucky announced after one more corridor and handed Tony a new weapon. "Stay at the wall once where through the door. Don't expose your back until I tell you to. If you think you can, make your way along the wall; don't walk across the room. Shoot as many as you can get," Bucky instructed him yet again and Tony nodded.

Bucky went through the door first, gun at the ready, and immediately fired. Tony followed after him, sticking to the wall and scanning the room.

There were around eleven guards and Angus, all somehow positioned between them and the exit. Tony didn't like it one bit, but if Angus was here, that meant they would get to kill him as well, and that made up for everything.

Bucky was ducking behind a desk and Tony dropped low as well. When Bucky gestured for him to join him, he carefully made his way over to him, grinding his teeth through the pain this position caused.

When he joined Bucky he saw that Bucky was still eying the door they had to reach.

"I'll have to be the distraction," Bucky told him. "We cannot just pick them off, they have too much cover over there." Bucky peeked over the table again. "I'll run over to the right; can you cover me?"

"Yes," Tony said and Bucky dropped him yet another gun.

"Now," he hissed and immediately went up and sprinted to the right, to dive behind another table.

Tony picked off three guards before everyone was out of sight again and then he looked back to Bucky. Bucky was counting down with his fingers and on zero he got up again.

They repeated that a few times, Tony making his way slowly after Bucky when he was a few tables ahead, and so they steadily crept closer to the door.

In the end there were only two guards and Angus left and Bucky and Tony were almost out of ammunition.

"I'm gonna take them like this. Fire if you have a clean shot, but don't stress it. I can take them."

Tony nodded, feeling a bit faint from the pain and the still lingering panic attack, but he dutifully reloaded his gun, just in case Bucky needed the assistant.

When he peeked over the table Bucky was already in a fight with the two guards, but Angus was nowhere to be seen. Tony quickly scanned the room and saw him to his left, approaching Bucky from a different angle, gun raised and ready to shoot at him at any moment.

Tony moved without a conscious thought, forgetting that he wasn't in the suit, that there was no metal to protect him. He quickly stepped into Angus' path, only then realizing that he had lost the gun along the way, too used to being in the suit and not needing it, and when Angus looked at him, Tony felt torn between wanting to hide and punching the bastard in the face.

When Angus raised the gun again, aiming at Bucky, Tony just knew he needed to stop this man and so he grabbed for the gun with his bare hand.

Angus seemed surprised by that move but he quickly got over it.

"So keen to die for the asset," he drawled and bodily pushed Tony backwards.

Tony couldn't find enough leverage to hold against him, his leg barely holding up at all, and quickly he was shoved against a wall. Through all this he didn't let go of the gun, not wanting to risk Angus aiming at Bucky again, but now his hand was pressed against his shoulder.

Tony had a second to notice the sickeningly gleeful expression on Angus' face before he pulled the trigger.

The pain was excruciating and Tony screamed. Everything was blurry for a bit and so he didn't immediately notice that Angus no longer stood in front of him.

Tony fell down, not able to stand for a second longer, but strong hands grabbed him and kept him upright.

"No, no, Tony! Tony, look at me!" Bucky yelled at him and Tony blinked a few times, before Bucky's face really came into sight.

"Angus?" Tony croaked out and Bucky's eyes flitted to something at his right side.

Tony managed to move his head enough to see Angus body lying on the floor; there was a worryingly discoloured stain on the wall and Tony had a hard time making out Angus head, though he was pretty sure that was not due to his still flickering vision.

Tony let his eyes flutter shut at that, the pain taking over almost every thought in his head, but Bucky shook him awake again.

"Tony, you need to stay with me, come on. We just have to make it out of this building and then I'll carry you, but there are still guards ahead. You need to walk on your own for a bit."

Bucky didn't sound happy and Tony felt positively sick at the prospect of ever moving again but the urgency in Bucky's voice made him nod.

"Can do," he managed and Bucky stood him up again.

"Good. Just, slowly, okay? Follow me slowly."

Tony stayed leaned against the wall until Bucky was done picking up more weapons and when Bucky motioned for him to move, he shakily pushed himself off the wall.

His hand was hanging limply at his side and he was leaving a trail of blood behind. Tony couldn't help it, he carefully wiggled his fingers, but the pain made everything white for a second and so he stopped.

He took a deep breath and then concentrated on their escape. This was something he couldn't think about now; he would worry about it later. One step after another; this one took priority right now.

Bucky was already pushing the door open and went through, gunshots ringing loudly through the room. Tony followed the noise, slowly but steadily making his way after him.

He was pretty sure that he was losing too much blood, but Bucky had all the bandages and Tony wasn't even sure he could manage wrapping the wounds up it on his own.

When he stumbled through the door Bucky was nowhere in sight, but there were three bodies on the ground so he must have come through here. Tony just kept stumbling on, too afraid that he wouldn't get started again when he stopped now and before he even made it to the next door Bucky came back.

"That's all of them. Now come here," Bucky rushed out and got onto Tony's left side.

Before Tony knew what happened, Bucky lifted him up, bridal style, and Tony hissed when it still aggravated his arm.

"Sorry, I know it hurts, but we're gonna be out here in a second, I promise."

"'s okay," Tony slurred and let his eyes drop close.

He wasn't sure what happened after that, but he came to when Bucky lowered him to the ground, somewhere outside hidden behind some trees.

"Hey, Tony. Tony. Tony, hey, wake up!" Bucky was yelling and Tony sluggishly lifted his head.

"What?" he muttered and Bucky grimaced at him.

"I'm gonna have to check the wound real quick before I bandage it, okay? It will hurt."

"Went clean through, no need to check," Tony told him and was surprised when Bucky shook his head.

"No, it didn't. There's no exit wound."

"Where's the bullet then?" Tony asked because that didn't make sense right now.

"Probably got stuck on your shoulder blade."

"Cool. Gonna keep it," Tony muttered and Bucky weakly chuckled.

"Yeah, you can keep it. The doctor will get it right out of you. But you gonna have to stay awake."

"Don't wanna be awake for that," Tony whined because this pain was already enough. He didn't want to know what it would feel like to get the bullet pried out of his body.

"I'm gonna tighten this now," Bucky said a second before he pulled the bandage around his shoulder tight and Tony was pretty sure he lost some time again. When his vision refocused Bucky was already working on his hand.

"Sorry, sorry, one last time," he told Tony and then there was another wave of pain, before everything went into a steady throb.

"Okay, all done, now. Tony, stay awake. You wanna be awake until Steve gets here."

"Why's that?" Tony asked and made an effort to open his eyes again. Bucky sounded really worried and Tony didn't like it.

"You can tell him off for letting us get abducted and then not finding us. You're good at that, right? Want to yell at him about that?"

"Yes," Tony answered, because it sounded like a pretty good idea.

"But until then you have to stay awake. Think you can manage that?" Bucky asked him concerned and Tony nodded. Maybe one too many times, but he wasn't counting. Given the worried glance Bucky shot him, he was.

"Can do that," Tony told him for good measure and then promptly drifted off.

Bucky gently patted his cheek. "No sleeping now, Tony. Come one. Talk to me."

"'bout what?"

Bucky hesitated a second before he asked "Why'd you do it? Why did you step in the way?"

"He was gonna shoot you," Tony mumbled and Bucky shook his head.

"He did that before. I would have been fine."

"Nope. He aimed for this," he told Bucky and poked him in the forehead. "You'd be so dead."

"You idiot," Bucky mumbled and Tony smiled at him.

"Sleep now, okay?" he asked and Bucky frantically shook his head again.

"No! No, Tony, stay awake. No sleep."

"But haven't slept in so long," Tony whined.

"I know, but you have to hold on a bit longer. Just until Steve gets here. Come on, tell me something."

"Nothing to tell," Tony said and Bucky snorted.

"What's your latest project? You're an inventor, there's always something you work on. Tell me about that."

"New armour," Tony slurred and Bucky nodded encouragingly.

"For who? Gimme some details."

"You. You're not protected. Need better protection. More protection. Was gonna make you something but didn't know what you liked. Have some prototypes. You need the protection," Tony said and waved at Bucky's form, currently only clad in a shirt.

"Christ, Tony," Bucky muttered under his breath and then visibly shook himself out of something.

"What about after that? You have more to work on, right?"

Tony nodded but going by Bucky's face he wanted a verbal answer.

"New arm," he said and gently patted at the metal underarm. "Jarvis says you have some problems."

"You scanned me," Bucky lowly said and Tony was pretty sure there was an accusation in there somewhere.

"Scan everyone who comes into the tower. Your scan was just more….." he waved a hand, "just more. So much to scan."

Bucky chuckled weakly at that but was serious again a second later when Tony's eyes started to drop again.

"Tony, no, stay with me. Just a little bit longer. Talk about the arm, come on."

"Gonna make it once we're back home. All the improvements."

"Good, that's good. You can do that. I'll let you work on the arm as much as you want."

"Great," Tony slurred and patted the arm again. "So much to do."

"What else do you have to do, huh? Come on, tell me. What's next on the list?"

"Clint's bow. His is shit. Pre-historic. He needs a better one."

"What are you gonna do? Install sound effects?" Bucky asked him, but quickly checked their surroundings.

"That's a good idea. I like that idea. Sound effects. The most ridiculous ones," Tony told Bucky excitedly, because yes, that was good.

Before Bucky could ask him something again, there was some light on the sky and Tony hadn't been sure if it was just him and the blood loss or if there really was light, but now Bucky turned around and he obviously saw it as well.

"The cavalry is here, Tony. You're gonna be in good hands soon enough."

"We're the cavalry. Don't need anyone to save us. Did that all on ourselves."

"That we did, Tony. You saved us."

"Nu-uh. You did all the hard work," Tony said and poked at Bucky's leg, where the wound had started to bleed again. "I just went along."

"We're not gonna argue about that now," Bucky told him and then got up when the Quinjet landed.

"Bucky, Tony!" Steve yelled and sprinted out of the jet before it even touched down.

"Over here," Bucky yelled back and Steve was there a second later, checking Bucky over and then turning to Tony.

"You okay?" he asked and Tony laughed.

"I have a bullet in my bone," he said and Bucky cringed.

"He lost a lot of blood and the pain is not helping. You bring a doctor?"

"Of course," Steve said and the doctor was there next, along with Natasha and Bruce.

"Clint has our backs," Natasha told them with one glance at Bucky and then crouched down next to Tony.

"No need," Tony told her. "He picked them all off."

The doctor gently manhandled him into a more sitting position and Tony blacked out from the pain again. When he came to he was already in the Quinjet, strapped to a cot and the jet was in the air again.

Tony weakly struggled against the bonds, not sure what exactly was happening but a second later Bucky was at his side.

"It's okay, Tony, we're safe now."

"Saved us," he mumbled and Bucky nodded.

"Yeah you did. You can sleep now. It's fine."

"Need to yell at Steve," Tony slurred and Bucky laughed.

"Do that once you can actually articulate yourself. It will have more of an effect on him."

Tony nodded at that and then promptly blacked out.

When Tony woke up, he was in a hospital. There were several machines near his bed and at least two of them gave him a headache with their beeping. He tried to raise his hand to make them stop, but he found he could barely move it.

When he looked down he saw that it was mostly covered in bandages, metal pins sticking out of it and a frame keeping them in place, and when he tried to wriggle his fingers, pain shot through him.

He quickly stopped and instead tried to remember what happened, how he had ended up here, and it all came back slowly. Hydra, the chair, their escape. And the bullets.

He gently moved his shoulder, but stopped with a hiss when pain erupted there as well and then he very, very carefully checked his leg. The pain there wasn't too bad, but still an obvious sign that he had indeed been shot there as well.

Tony looked around for a call button, he wanted to know how long he had been here already and when he could leave, but before he found it the door to his room opened.

Bucky came in, closely followed by Steve, Natasha and a doctor.

"How are you feeling?" Natasha asked him and gently sat on the bed.

"Like shit," Tony croaked and Natasha smiled at him.

"Better than dead," she told him and Tony smiled at her.

"What's the verdict?" he asked and looked at Steve and the doctor, leaving Bucky to hover behind Steve in silence.

Only now did he realize that everyone had a really pinched up expression on their face and Tony sighed. "How bad?"

"You lost a lot of blood, which we needed to replace. The wound on your leg isn't so bad, it will heal up soon enough. Your arm is another matter, I'm afraid," the doctor told him matter of factly.

Tony was about to say something to that when Natasha took his left hand into hers and that was when he knew he should be worried. She usually wasn't as open with affection as this.

"The bullet lodged in your scapula, damaging it greatly. It's fractured and while we were able to reconstruct it, it will take time to heal as well as some serious physical therapy."

"Okay," Tony said, because he could do that. It wasn't so bad.

"Your hand took the most damage. The bullet went right through it, obliterating a lot of the smaller bones there. We tried to reconstruct as much as possible, but there is nothing we can do to restore your former dexterity. The parts are too small and delicate. You'll be lucky if you can close your hand at all again, much less hold on to anything. I am sorry."

Tony stared at the doctor, trying to process the news but in the end the only thing he could manage was a "I'm right-handed," while a strange numbness settled over him.

"I know, Mr. Stark. But you will have to learn to use your left hand. It can be done, we have some very good therapists for that here."

"I need my hand," Tony tried again, not acknowledging what the doctor had said and he shrugged awkwardly.

"At this point there is nothing more we can do."

Tony looked down at his injured hand, trying to tap one finger, but when pain shot up his arm he stopped.

"I _need_ my hand," Tony said again without looking up and this time it was Steve who spoke, presumably because the doctor already left.

"Tony, we will figure something out."

"I can't figure something out, Steve," Tony said with bite to his voice and lifted his gaze, "because I need my goddamn hand to do so!"

"I'll assist you," Bucky piped up and Tony looked at him. "You took that bullet for me, it's the least I can do."

"And what do you think you're gonna do, with that malfunctioning piece of tec that serves as your arm, huh?" Tony asked him and Bucky ducked his head.

"My right arm works fine. I'll try my best."

"I don't want your best, I want my hand," Tony told him and Bucky actually flinched a bit.

"Tony, it's not his fault. Let him help," Natasha told him and Tony took his hand back.

"I don't _want_ any help! I cannot….I can't work like this! What am I gonna do if I can't build new things?" he yelled at them and Natasha put her hand on his arm.

"You are not defined by what you build," she told him and Tony snorted.

"Yeah, right. Because I am so good at actually leading a company. Because I can steer my goddamn suit like this. It's not like there was much else I am good at."

Not to mention that it was his place of comfort, an activity he turned to when everything became too much. His head wasn't injured and it would continue to spit out idea after idea, leaving Tony with too many things he wouldn't be able to do. He closed his eyes and realized that he was shaking.

"I want you to leave. I need some time. Where is Rhodey?" he asked and Natasha got off the bed.

"On his way. He should arrive later this evening."

"Good. I want to be alone until then." He didn't know if being alone would be better, but it would certainly beat their pinched expressions.

Natasha and Steve exchanged a look but then left the room. Bucky was slower to follow.

He stepped up to Tony's bed and put something on the table.

"What's that?" Tony asked with a frown and Bucky shrugged.

"It's the bullet," he told him and Tony saw red.

He reached for the little container and threw it across the room, jostling his right arm in the process, but he didn't care. What did Bucky think?

"What do you suspect I'm gonna do with it, huh?" he yelled at him and Bucky went to retrieve the bullet, before he gently placed it on the table again.

"I don't know. You said you wanted to keep it. I asked the doctor for it." He didn't look at Tony while he spoke, but Tony was pretty sure he was ready to restrain him, should Tony make another movement.

"Why would I want to keep that?" Tony asked, voice cold and tight, and Bucky shrugged again.

"I don't know. You said you wanted it." He looked up at Tony. "Let me help."

"Why would you? You don't even like me."

"I guess being holed up in a cell with you for three days and then being repeatedly saved by you warmed me up a bit. Just…let me help, okay? I was pretty good with cars before, if you talk me through it, I can learn a lot more."

Tony looked away, gaze automatically landing on his hand again. He wanted to thrash and scream, but instead he took a deep breath.

"Not now. I have to…this is too much. Not now," he said and Bucky nodded.

"That's fine," Bucky said and pushed his hand through his hair. "Just give it a thought. We can make this work. We'll figure something out."

The unhidden hope in Bucky's voice made Tony sick.

"Can you leave now? I'm tired."

"Sure. Sleep a bit more. When you wake up Rhodey will be here," Bucky told him and then started to leave.

Right before he opened the door he stopped again. "I'm sorry, for what it's worth," he muttered and Tony sighed, head tipping back and looking at the ceiling.

"Don't do this now. You're not gonna like what I have to say. Just leave it be and go."

"I can do that," Bucky said, but his shoulders hunched up and his voice was small but he finally left.

Tony left out a deep sigh once he was alone and closed his eyes. His brain was already working in overdrive, figuring out how delicate a new construction for his hand would have to be, but he drew a lot of blanks, due to some serious lack of information. Biology had never been his best subject after all.

His hand twitched with anticipation and when that also sparked a shot of pain Tony's face became pinched and his eyes started to burn. He had no idea how he was going to solve this.

He was pretty sure Bruce would have some ideas, but Bruce was still in India and so it looked like he had to do this on his own, at least until they could contact him.

But no matter what the doctor said, Tony had created the arc reactor with a damn car battery in his chest; he could totally work around a busted hand. He had to believe that.

With that thought Tony fell asleep again.


End file.
